Bestiarum Supernaturale Vocabulum
I am altering this definition to reflect mythical beasts, primarily pulled from ancient societies across the world. Just because they are listed below does not mean they will be in the game. As game production continues I will mark or remove those that do not make the cut. Why do certain areas differ in supernatural phenomena and creatures from another? The solution is quite simple, magikal portals or gateways. These portals, usually temporary or sporadic, most likely one-way, come from a world, realm, what have you, to Pangaia, scattered about the world each originating from various realms and worlds delivering a specific type of flora and fauna. Evidence of these gateways is the presence of the two major races, Sylvanni and Durinn, each from a different world, both passing through a different portal to Pangaia, at different times in the far distant past. These two portals, that the Sylvanni and Durinn passed through, were most probably different than the others discussed here, stayed open for several decades, both were two-way according to documents from both species archives. Afar Abada ; Wikipedia : In the Kongo language, Abada refers to a mythical animal similar to a unicorn. The abada, however, has two crooked horns as opposed to a unicorn's single one. The abada's horns can act as an antidote to poison. : It has been described as being the size of a small donkey with the tail of a boar. : It also goes by the name of Nillekma or Arase. It is said to be native to Kurdufan, a former province of central Sudan. : (source: Wikipedia) Amphisbæna Amphisbæna Emela-ntouka ; Wikipedia : The emela-ntouka is a legendary creature from the Likouala region of Central Africa. Its name means "killer of the elephants" in the Lingala language.needed It may also be called aseka-moke, or ngamba-namae.needed : (source: Wikipedia) Impundulu ; Wikipedia : The lightning bird or impundulu or the kwane (or izulu, inyoni yezulu) is a mythological creature in the folklore of the tribes of South Africa including the Pondo, the Zulu, and the Xhosa. The impundulu (which translates as "lightning bird") takes the form of a black and white bird, the size of a person, which is said to summon thunder and lightning with its wings and talons. It is a vampiric creature associated with witchcraft, often the servant or familiar of a witch or witch doctor, which attacks the witch's enemies. It is said to have an insatiable appetite for blood. Sometimes it takes the form of a beautiful young man who seduces women. ; The bird : Among certain African tribes the hammerkop is believed to be the lightning bird. Among others, the lightning bird is believed to manifest itself only through lightning, except to women, to whom it reveals itself as a bird. In these instances, the bird is of imaginary nature and may take several forms. In one instance a village girl described a black rooster-like bird that ran up her home and left claw marks on her body before it flew back to the clouds. In other instances, it is described as having iridescent feathers like a peacock's or a fiery red tail, bill and legs. Most supposed sightings describe the lightning bird as a winged creature the size of a man, when needed it can indeed masquerade as a human, but usually, it's a huge black and white bird of prey. : (source: Wikipedia) Ninki Nanka ; Wikipedia : A Ninki Nanka is a legendary creature in West African folklore. Descriptions of the creature vary, but most contend that the animal is reptilian and possibly dragon-like. : According to tradition, the Ninki Nanka lives in the swamps of West Africa. The animal is said to be extremely large and very dangerous. It is said that when children get too confident and feel they can disobey their parents and go into the swamp they will be taken by the Ninki Nanka. : (source: Wikipedia) Rompo ; Wikipedia : Rompo is a mythological beast with the head of a hare, human ears, a skeleton-like body, the front arms of a badger, and the rear legs of a bear. It feeds only on human corpses and it is said to croon softly as it eats. Stories about the Rompo are found in India and Africa. The legend of the Rompo may have been inspired from sightings of any of the Old world porcupines. : (source: Wikipedia) Eurus All info gathered from Wikipedia, or other web resources does not imply that it is the way or definition of a creature or other being ingame. I will make notes, comments, and reclassifications to those definitions after the "real world" info. Universal Peryton ; Wikipedia : The Peryton is an alleged mythological hybrid animal combining the physical features of a stag and a bird. The Peryton was created and described by Jorge Luis Borges in his Book of Imaginary Beings, using a supposedly long-lost medieval manuscript as a source. :; Mythology : The Peryton is said to have the head, neck, forelegs, and antlers of a stag, combined with the plumage, wings, and hindquarters of a large bird, although some interpretations portray the Peryton as a deer in all but coloration and bird's wings. : According to Borges, Perytons lived in Atlantis until an earthquake destroyed the civilization and the creatures escaped by flight. A Peryton casts the shadow of a man until it kills one during its lifetime, at which time it starts to cast its own shadow. A Sibyl once prophesied that the Perytons would lead to the downfall of Rome. : In Borges' original Spanish edition, the word is given as peritio so the presumptive Latin original would be peritius, which happens to be the Latin name of the fourth month on the ancient Macedonian calendar, (Peritios, moon of January). The connection of this, if any, to the peryton is unclear. : (source: Wikipedia) Afallon Babian ; The Camelot Project : The Babian appears in Daniel of the Blossoming Valley, and it is described as a prized exotic bird commonly owned by women. “Such a wondrous plumage has the Babian that I hear the women speak of seeing their own reflection in it – as clearly as in a mirror.” These birds are trained to provide relief from the sun’s heat, and they emit light so that their owners can see at night “as though from a burning candle.” : (source: The Camelot Project) Beast Glatisant ; Wikipedia : The Questing Beast, or the Beast Glatisant (Barking Beast), is a monster from Arthurian legend. It is the subject of quests undertaken by famous knights such as King Pellinore, Sir Palamedes, and Sir Percival. : The strange creature has the head and neck of a snake, the body of a leopard, the haunches of a lion, and the feet of a hart. Its name comes from the great noise that it emits from its belly, a barking like "thirty couple hounds questing". 'Glatisant' is related to the French word glapissant, 'yelping' or 'barking', especially of small dogs or foxes. : The questing beast is a variant of the mythological medieval view on giraffes, whose generic name of Camelopardalis originated from their description of being half camel and half leopard. : (source: Wikipedia) Aragon Basque Etruria All info gathered from Wikipedia, or other web resources does not imply that it is the way or definition of a creature or other being ingame. I will make notes, comments, and reclassifications to those definitions after the "real world" info. Aigikampoi ; Wikipedia : The hippocampus or hippocamp, also hippokampoi (plural: hippocampi or hippocamps; Greek: ἱππόκαμπος, from ἵππος, "horse" and κάμπος, "sea monster"), often called a sea-horse in English, is a mythological creature shared by Phoenician and Greek mythology, though the name by which it is recognised is purely Greek. It was also adopted into Etruscan mythology. The hippocampus has typically been depicted as having the upper body of a horse with the lower body of a fish. ;;: Etruscan : Hippocampi appear with the first Oriental-phase of Etruscan civilization: they remain a theme in Etruscan tomb wall-paintings and reliefs, where they are sometimes provided with wings, as they are in the Trevi fountain. Katharine Shepard found in the theme an Etruscan belief in a sea-voyage to the other world. : (source: Wikipedia) Leokampoi Fish-tailed lions. Pardalokampoi Fish-tailed leopards. Taurokampoi Fish-tailed bulls. Antianeir, Hellás Dimokratía, Ionia, and Lesvos Hellás mythos bestiary ; Wikipedia : Greek mythology is the body of myths and teachings that belong to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. It was a part of the religion in ancient Greece. Modern scholars refer to and study the myths in an attempt to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece and its civilization and to gain an understanding of the nature of myth-making itself. : (source: Wikipedia) Waṣûm Subir western Waṣûm Lamassu ; Wikipedia Wikipedia : A bestiary, or bestiarum vocabulum, is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the Ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds, and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast were usually accompanied by a moral lesson. This reflected the belief that the world itself was the Word of God, and that every living thing had its own special meaning. For example, the pelican, which was believed to tear open its breast to bring its young to life with its own blood, was a living representation of Jesus. The bestiary, then, is also a reference to the symbolic language of animals in Western Christian art and literature. : (source: Wikipedia) See also